'A-am I dead? I don't know. It's dark. Is this the end?' internally questioned Ace, his consciousness only an empty dark void.
"Survive…" a distorted voice came out.
'What?'
"Kill…"
'I…' Ace hesitated as the sensation of someone gripping his neck and choking him became more and more vivid as he struggled for air, the voice becoming more insistent and earbreaking.
"KI… ILL…! SUR… VIVE…! KILL… KILL…! SURVIVE….! KILL…! SURVIVE…!"
His mind still in the spiral of suffocation and distortion, back on the platform, an aura had started emanating from Ace's body. Deker's lips curved into wide grin as he witnessed what was happening in front of him.
'This kid… I can't believe he managed to resist my Spiritual Pressure. Unbelievable,' his thoughts raced, unable to fathom in what way Ace's spirit came back from its state of pseudo-death.
"Hehehe," Deker then laughed loudly. "Guess I underestimated you! Your fighting spirit still burns with the will to fight!"
Ace remained silent as he simply pointed the knife in his hand at Deker after seemingly regaining consciousness.
"Time for a comeback, eh?" Deker began, already starting to grip his weapon firmly. "Fine. Bring it!"
In an instant, Ace appeared right in front of Deker, his knife already at pinpoint range in a stabbing motion from the right.
'He got faster!?' thought Deker, focusing a gust of wind under his left foot and then evading Ace's attack by leaping on the side. 'I'm not even at full strength yet, and he's already catching up? What a monster.'
With his body crouched forward, Ace's chest heaved up and down, clearly showing how out of breath he was.
'What… was that?' he internally questioned, eyes wide with shock and confusion as his left hand came up to his throat, the sensation he experienced vivid while his lungs seemed to have difficulty taking in any air.
As his eyes caught sight of Deker, Ace repositioned himself in a thrusting stance, his gaze growing emptier and darker as if no will animated him anymore.
'Survive… Survive no matter what.'
The wind started to blow, a premonition to the final act of this battle. Chris and Hugo, from where they stood, could only hold their breath as the suspense went on.
'Guess this is it, huh?' thought Deker as he gazed intently at Ace, his skin crawling from the hostility he was a target of. 'This will be the last play.'
Deker raised his right arm, a small tornado that grew ever stronger starting to form around him and his sword while Chris and Hugo couldn't take their eyes off the battle since blinking for even a fraction of a second meant not witnessing what was going to happen.
And so, as the tension was at its peak, at the very moment a droplet of Ace's sweat fell to ground, the last exchange started.
Ace, in a single burst of speed, leaped towards Deker, pouring all his remaining strength into one final attack. All the force and energy of the attack was being focused into a singular point… the tip of his knife.
With the momentum increasing, it was to such a point that anyone watching could only see what seemed to be a vacuum of air enveloped in bright silver hues, almost like a bullet being shot from a gun.
At the same moment, Deker took only one step forward, his sword descending with full force.
Just as the tornado that surrounded Deker became distorted as it followed his move, a powerful strike that blew away everything and destroyed all in its quake followed.
As that single moment that seemed to flow more slowly than ordinary regained its normal flow, the cloud of dust that resulted from that one single instant was so huge that neither Chris nor Hugo could clearly see what happened.
As all eyes were focused without blinking even once, their hearts were pounding with excitement and palpitation from the breath-taking battle.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" a loud laugh then came from the cloud of dust.
It was Deker, and in a single motion, he blew away the dust cloud, revealing the end result of the battle.
Ace was down and unconscious, his knife broken and most of his already worn garments, completely in tatters. In comparison, Deker stood firm, his state not as grave as Ace's, except for a small, bleeding wound on his right cheek.
That was all that was needed to confirm that Ace had managed to land a hit on Deker.
"H-haha. I can't believe it. He actually landed a hit," Chris said completely dumbfounded at the exploit the young boy had accomplished.
'That lad… It was only for a moment… No. A split second. But before young Rotsguard's attack could connect, he increased his speed at the last moment and managed to graze his face,' Hugo's thoughts raced as he reviewed what he had barely managed to witness thanks to his impressive sight that was strengthened by magic.
'Still though. What happened at that moment… What was that? His form seemed to have vanished for a split second,' thought Deker, glancing at Ace as he tried to figure out what seemed to have emerged from Ace's form, distorting it into a mass of raw, unfiltered malice. 'At that point, it can't even be called hostility anymore.'
'Seems like there are quite a few mysteries surrounding this kid. Just what the hell is he really?' Deker smirked anxiously, his curiosity over Ace's true nature only growing stronger. 'You'd almost believe he really was a monster.'
---
---
---
After the fight, Ace was transported to the infirmary of the Association where he rested.
In the meantime, within the head office of the Association, Hugo, Chris and Deker were discussing matters concerning Ace.
"I certainly didn't expect to see you here, old man!" Deker said, seated behind his office desk.
"Yes. I had come to talk about something important, but never in my wildest dreams was I expecting to stumble upon such a situation," Hugo took a sip on the cup of tea that was sitting in front of him.
"You can say that again. I never expected that kid to actually scar my face with his knife. You simply gotta wonder how the Infernal Swordsman would fare against him, right?" Deker glanced at Chris.
"I for one am not that interested to know the answer," said Chris, still glaring at Deker.
"Come on~ Do you really need to be so angry?" lazily asked Deker.
"Need?" Chris started, his brow twitching. "You not only destroyed one of our training spaces, but you also destroyed equipment we got from the GMC while also putting one of their people in danger. EXCUSE ME FOR NOT KEEPING A COOL HEAD!"
"Now, now. I'm sure he understood his lesson," interrupted Hugo. "More importantly, I would like to give a suggestion."
"Hmm?" Deker reacted.
"Suggestion?" Chris wondered.
"I've become quite curious about that young lad. So I wondered, why not let him attend the academy?" expressed Hugo, a knowing smile etched in his face.
"Huh?" both of them reacted.